Exhibition: Pippi's Dad and a Really…

The stories about Pippi Longstocking and her father Efraim, who rules as king over Taka-Tuka Land, are among the most popular works of 20th-century European children's literature. But was there really a Swedish "South Sea king"? The life of the Swede Carl Pettersson (1875-1937) shows surprising parallels to the Pippi books. Pettersson worked in the Pacific for the German New Guinea Company, in which Hamburg firms also held shares. After a shipwreck he settled on the Tabar Islands, planted coconut plantations and started a family with his Pacific wife Singdo. Their children experienced colonial upheaval and mission-school upbringing. Using the stories of their lives, the exhibition tells a playful, interactive story of German colonialism in the Pacific for children and families. It presents colonial plantation life and the trade links between the islands of the Bismarck Archipelago and the city of Hamburg. The exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on how colonial worldviews in children's literature are handled today. Funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and